LC English Channel Attempt, Part Two

Larry and I after a training swim in 2021.

In my last post, I gave an overview of what goes into swimming the English Channel. If you haven’t read it already, and would like to do so, you can find part one HERE. 

Once again, I have come to realize there is more background and context to go over. While I had originally intended to make this a two-part series, it looks like it’s going to take three (or four?). In this post, I go over what took place over the eight years prior to Larry’s swim on July 5, 2022.

2014-2017

Larry and I first started working together through the sport of triathlon in late 2008/early 2009. Throughout that time, Larry had always shown himself to be a very competent swimmer, particularly in the Ironman-distance events with a 2.4 mile PR of 56 minutes. Over time, we started to take on more and more standalone open water races/events and at some point in 2014 I mentioned the idea of attempting the English Channel. In the two years that followed, Larry started doing some smaller open water events in the U.K. and eventually started to make inquiries into finding a captain/boat for a spot to attempt an English Channel Crossing.

In the winter of 2016/17, Larry managed to find a spot on the boat, SUVA, for the latter part of the 2019 season (September). 

2018

In 2018, I traveled to England with Larry for an English Channel recon trip combined with a 14K swim race called the Thames Marathon Swim (you can read about my experience with that race HERE). Following the swim race, Larry and I traveled to Dover where I was able to observe where the swim would originate from. We also took the ferry from Dover to Calais, rented a car, and drove to the point of France where a landing would be most ideal (and could observe the beaches where a secondary landing point may very well take place). The day we took the ferry to and from France was absolutely perfect for swimming. The channel was about as calm as could be along with sunshine and warm temperatures. We could see various boats adrift guiding that day’s swimmers along their journeys. I wish I could say that these favorable conditions were a harbinger for what was to come for us, but we did not have similarly spectacular days in the year(s) to come.

2019

In 2019, Larry finally had his tide; he would be the first swimmer on a tide lasting from September 21-25 (on the shorter end of tide lengths). Larry, and his sister Lori, had arrived more than a week before the tide began, while Larry’s two friends, Annette and Marshall, and I arrived a couple days before the tide was set to begin. As I was driving into Dover, there was a new record being set as Sarah Thomas was just completing the first ever four-way swim of the English Channel. She had managed to swim back and forth from England to France two times in a row. The weather and tides had turned on her a bit on the final leg, but she persevered and did what no one else had ever done before (and still haven’t, at the time of this writing). 

As an aside, when I was in Boulder the day before, I went down the street to the local bus stop to catch the bus to the airport. The bus was late and I ended up chatting with someone at the stop for quite a while. We eventually ended up talking about how I was traveling to Dover for an EC swim and she asked if I knew about Sarah Thomas’ current attempt at the four way. It was pretty fun to randomly run into someone that was well aware of what she was doing across the ocean.

Back to Dover. 

As I mentioned above, the tail end of Sarah’s four way swim was hampered a bit by a change in the weather. That weather would not only continue to worsen, but would become downright hostile. The wind that persisted during our trip was so severe that it would actually keep me up at night because it was so loud. We tried to keep the faith that things might trend in a more auspicious direction, but the forecasts of winds in the 30-50 mph range didn’t give us much hope. The wind was actually so strong that it made any swim training in the protected Dover harbor impossible many of the days we were there. Typically, the harbor is almost always swimmable even if the channel itself is rather rough.

Unfortunately, the tide window of September of 21-25 came and went without even the slightest inkling of a chance to start. Both Larry and I were shocked and saddened by not even getting a chance to start the swim. We had always considered that weather would be an issue, but we had not really understood how it could wipe out any, and all, chances of getting a start.

Following the trip, we discussed what options might be available for the future and began to make plans towards 2020.

Hoping for a break in the weather.

2020

I don’t have to tell anyone that 2020 did not go as planned (for anything). There actually were some English Channel swims completed in the summer of 2020, but almost everyone was based out of the U.K. as travel restrictions and quarantines made it very difficult for international swimmers to take part. Even then, training in many locations was often limited with pool time restrictions and closures so preparing for the swim was also a barrier to entry for many. 

As such, there was no attempt in 2020 and we looked towards 2021.

2021

In 2021, we were still faced with many uncertainties with COVID and were not totally sure that an attempt would be able to take place. However in the late spring, we decided that we should try and go forward with planning a second attempt. 

Larry was scheduled to be the first swimmer on an eight day tide lasting from August 8-15. At this point in the year, the U.K. had various quarantine protocols in place based on which country you were arriving from. Our protocols were going to involve a ten-day quarantine that could be shortened to five if you tested negative for COVID on the fifth day. Given that Larry wouldn’t be able to swim during that time period, our plan was to arrive in London two weeks out from the swim window, complete the quarantine in London, then transfer to Dover a week prior to the swim window to allow for some training time. The U.K. changed their quarantine protocols while we were in the middle of ours, no longer requiring it for US travelers. However, they set these new protocols to go into effect the day after ours ended. Just the way it goes sometimes. 

A lot of people asked what I did during that time frame. It actually went by faster than I would have expected. I read some books, hung out with Larry, and watched the last week of the Tokyo Olympics (with an inordinate amount of dressage coverage by the BBC).

Following our stint in London, Larry’s sister, Lori, arrived and we traveled to Dover to prep for the upcoming swim. Larry built his swim volume back up a bit and I even joined in for about half of the sessions (wetsuit for me). The first few days we were there had good enough weather for some swims to be completed and soon it was time for Larry’s tide to begin. The opening days did not have favorable conditions, but this was nothing like 2019. This time, it really did seem like the slightest change in the forecast could go in our favor as the conditions were never to the point where it didn’t seem possible for them to improve. 

One of the first days in Dover in 2021.

On the third day, we got good news. 

The captain contacted Larry and said that the swim for that evening was a go. We were planning to meet at the dock at midnight, with a swim beginning sometime around 1:00 a.m. the following morning. That morning, I went for a long walk in the hills south of Dover, trying to tire myself out a bit for an afternoon nap. My plan was to try and lie down until 6:00 p.m. and then start getting things ready around 10:00 p.m.

Around 8:00 p.m. I got a knock on my door.

Larry said the swim had been called off.

I was completely shocked at that moment. I suggested that we both get out of the motel and go for a walk. We headed down to the beach and sat on a bench by the water. We didn’t say much for quite a while; I think we were both just sitting with the sadness and disappointment that came with the news. 

However, the tide wasn’t over so it was back to work. The next day we got up, did our swim training and checked the forecast every 10-15 minutes hoping for another chance, but unfortunately all the days came and went and once again, Larry did not get a chance to start. Nevertheless, we were not entirely out of options.

The captain of the SUVA contacted Larry and told him that he only had one swimmer booked on the tide beginning the next week and the long term forecast looked very good. If we were willing to extend our stay, he believed there was a very good chance we would be able to get a start. After conversing together, Larry, Lori, and I all agreed that it was worth staying and agreed to extend our stay through the end of the following tide.

Unfortunately, the forecast deemed itself unreliable. We would consistently get forecasts in the 4-7 day window that would look exceptionally positive only to have it change when it got closer to the 48 hour window. We kept up our daily training and hoped for the best, but as the weekend approached it appeared to be a lost cause. We waited until the last day of the window as we had planned, but ultimately we packed up our stuff and headed home. Larry and I had been in the U.K. for 29 days (and Lori for 22)  and we would sadly have to postpone his chance at crossing the channel for the time being. 

Our last morning in Dover.

I did one non-wetsuit swim on our last day in solidarity. I don’t thrive in cold water swimming.

2022

In 2022, Larry managed to once again get a spot on a tide; he would be the second swimmer on a tide from July 4-11. This essentially meant the earliest he could swim would be on July 5th, assuming the first swimmer managed to get a July 4th start.

On July 4th, the first swimmer (a relay swim, actually) did get their start and the captain of the SUVA contacted Larry to tell him to be ready for a July 5th swim start. The swim was a go and this time it would not be called off.

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In part three, I will cover Larry’s swim on July 5th, 2022.